Sony has reportedly cancelled Rise of the Ronin’s release in South Korea

Sony Interactive Entertainment has reportedly cancelled plans to release Rise of the Ronin in South Korea.

Developed by Team Ninja exclusively for PS5, the open-world game from the Nioh and Ninja Gaiden studio sees players embarking on a journey across war-torn 19th-century Japan.

While the action RPG is scheduled to release elsewhere on March 22, 2024, publisher Sony has confirmed that it won’t be released in South Korea, according to local media reports.

While the company didn’t provide an official explanation, it’s believed that the decision could be related the game’s depiction of 19th-century scholar Shōin Yoshida, who is a controversial figure in Korea.

Yoshida nurtured a number of political activists who made major contributions to the Meiji Restoration, which restored imperial rule in Japan in 1868. He was also an advocate for the conquest of Korea, which would go on to be ruled by the Empire of Japan from 1910 to 1945.

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Team Ninja game producer and director Fumihiko Yasuda compared Yoshida to Greek philosopher Socrates in a behind the scenes Rise of the Ronin video released last week, which is viewable above.

“Although it was a different world in a different time, I believe he could be compared to Socrates,” he said. “I wanted to depict his teachings and his life from the moment I started working on Rise of the Ronin. He wasn’t just a philosopher. He insisted on the importance of taking action.”

VGC has approached Sony for comment on this report.